Welcome To The New Age
by damedepiques
Summary: After Zac discovered the girls' secret, everything began to fall apart. Lyla's world was shattered into so many pieces she is unsure she will ever be able to put them back together. But just as all hopes seem to fade, an enemy becomes a valuable friend, helping the young mermaid regain her confidence and set things on the right track. - ON HOLD. Working on improving the story.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N:** My first attempt at a Mako Mermaids FanFic, so take me easy! It picks up after Season One, Episode 21 and goes completely AU from there. I will also be introducing some new characters later on. Don't know if people are still interested, but i've had this idea stuck in my head and just wanted to out it. So here it is! I hope everyone enjoys!

* * *

The rain that had been pouring down nonstop over the past two days had forced Lyla and Rita to put their weekend plans on hold, much to the blonde's relief. An informative trip to some private art college in Melbourne was the last thing the young mermaid had in mind at the time. But Rita had been so excited about this 'opportunity' that she just couldn't refuse. With a sigh, Lyla placed her glass of water back on the desk, untouched. Scanning the room, her blue eyes set on Poseidon. As she watched him chase around a ball of yarn, looking slightly annoyed as it kept getting stuck in his claws, Lyla went through the list of things she would much rather be doing if the dark clouds decided to dissipate.

Her time would have been better spent gathering shells at the beach for Rita's upcoming birthday present, maybe Sirena could put them into…Lyla's trail of thought was abruptly interrupted as the cruel reality slithered in through the cracks of her imagination. Sirena was no longer there. Her sister, Aquata, had come for her a few months ago, announcing she was allowed to return to their home pod. Advised by both her friends, as well as aunt Rita, she took that chance. Reluctantly, but she took it. The next day she was out of their lives before they were even awake. Lyla could only hope she was happy, she knew it wasn't easy leaving so much behind, especially David. The boy was still too distraught to even look Lyla in the eye at school without, despite the significant amount of time that had passed. Same went for Nixie.

Everyone knew she and the dark haired mermaid were not the best of friends, always fighting out wars over the smallest of things and agreeing only to disagree. But during their time together on land they had begun to accept and care for one another, for a few days even managing to get along without the help of their peacekeeping friend. How short those days had been…And now Lyla found herself wishing the irritating young mermaid were around, even if to remind her through some bad joke how lame she was being now, sitting upside down in an armchair and feeling sorry for herself. After they lost the Moon Pool to Zac and Cam, her friend had decided to leave and take her chances with a pod passing through rather than trying to live as a land dweller for good. To Nixie's relied, she was taken in. It took a few lies here and there, but she had found a new home and it was all that mattered. So Lyla was once again the odd one out, not only in high school, where she had absolutely no friends, but also in life.

Stuck so deep among the dark clouds thundering inside of her head, the blonde failed to notice the rays of sun slipping in through the curtains. Her eyes wouldn't open to acknowledge them, but she was fine with it. After all, everything in her life had been a series of unfortunate events ever since Zac discovered that she, Sirena and Nxie had tails. What the big deal was, she couldn't understand. It's not like she hadn't tried to explain to him a million times before how badly she felt and how she wished she could tell him everything. She just couldn't, it wasn't just he secret to share, it belonged to her entire species. And Cam and Evie were not making things better. They were always keeping the merman away from her, constantly reminding him how she could not be trusted. Thank the stars she managed to threaten Cam into ceasing his attempts to expose her. She wouldn't really drown him, he just needed to think she would.

Something harsh and wet touched her nose, causing her to lose her balance and slide out of the armchair, landing flat on her back. In a few seconds, a large golden tail took the place of her legs. Only then did Lyla open her eyes, squinting them slightly to avoid the sun ray lighting up her face. Something fluffy rubbed against her shoulder as it made its way around the magazines she knocked down as she fell.

"Thank you Poseidon, that was mighty nice of you!" Lyla's sarcasm had no effect whatsoever on the large cat. He was just as obnoxious and daft as Cam, she though.

In return, the white cat simply jumped over her body, occupying the vacant seat before flashing the young mermaid a spiteful glare. He was clearly happy with his victory. Great, even the stupid cat was having a better day, Lyla though as she straightened up, holding a hand over her tail. It dried up just as her aunt Rita entered the study, a bright smile on her face. Calling the older mermaid 'aunt Rita' came naturally to Lyla now, not just because she was her legal guardian on paper, but because she did act quite motherly ever since the blonde mermaid was left all alone. Having gone through the same experience, Rita knew how Lyla felt. They never talked about it, mostly because the blonde would stop out of the room whenever it came up, but that didn't mean they didn't have a silent understanding.

"Are you alright dear?" Aunt Rita asked, rushing to help Lyla get back on her feet. Honestly, her back was a little sore having hit the ground pretty hard, but instead of outing it Lyla only smiled, nodding as she stood up.

"Good then." The woman smiled warmly, deciding to go along with Lyla's lie. "So, are you all packed?"

"Packed?" Lyla asked, a confused look on her face as her aunt began to dig around the drawers of her desk. Without pausing her actions, Rita nodded, mumbling an 'uhuh' in response.

"If we leave in ten minutes we can still make out appointment with Miss Fryers from Heather Mills Academy. She's in town until later tonight. I've reminded you all week," Her aunt stopped, having found what she was looking for, and turned to face her niece, her eyebrows raised questioningly. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"I was hoping it would rain through it…" There was no point in beating around the bush with Rita, she always knew when the young mermaid was lying. Probably because she was so bad at it. Letting out a sigh, Lyla headed for the door.

"I'll go throw my stuff in a bag right now. Meet you downstairs in five."

"By the car!" Rita added before her niece disappeared through the door. Car…The whole time she had lived under the same roof with the woman she had only seen her drive once, when she had an emergency at school and it had rained that day. However she said it was necessary Lyla got a driver's license. She already had an ID, Rita having come up with some amazing stories to fool people with, and a phone, and went to school like every other kid, had a part time job (Rita didn't want her moping around the grotto all day after school)…Basic land dweller stuff. And today she was checking out a college, the next step in any normal teenager's life.

"Welcome to the new age…" The blonde muttered to herself as she walked up the stairs, remembering the lyrics to some human song. "Like it or not, this is your world now Lyla. Better get used to it."

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**A.N:** Well, this was Chapter 1. Reviews are always welcomed and encouraged, even negative ones. They only help me improve. Suggestions as well! The next chapter might be slightly longer and i hope to have it up by Saturday, if things go as planned.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N:** Chapter two is finally out. It presents the girls trying to adjust to their new lives away from Mako and away from each other. I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always welcomed, as well as suggestions! And i promise i'll introduce Zac soon.

* * *

Everyone went silent as the the song came to an end. Like all of the others before it this too was about love, lost love to be more specific. "Beautiful!" A stray voice called out as applause began to echo throughout the cave, sounding louder than they actually were. Obviously they didn't get it, the singer thought as she stood still on her cliff, a smile plastered onto her face. To everyone it looked natural, she was always smiling, but now she just wanted to dive into the water and break away from the applause. A hand placed gently on her shoulder still made her shudder as she had completely forgotten she was not alone on stage.

"Sirena?" Aquata's voice was only a whisper meant for her sister's ears. "Are you ok?" Dumb question, Sirena thought as she turned to face the older mermaid.

"Fine." Out of the many words she would have wanted to say, only this one came out. But the smile had faded as so had the applause. The concert was finally over and she could retreat into hers and Aquata's room, trying to appear as if she were busy. Ever since she had rejoined the pod this had became routine and was getting irritating. The first few weeks were exciting: getting to know the smaller pod in the area, their home, the species of fish. But after that there wasn't much to do around, except swim aimlessly around and pray you came across a dolphin to race or a whale to watch. They were so far into the ocean not even humans knew of the small island, well just one big rock, in which their caves were. She had singing, but it was only worth it when Aquata was on stage with her, and recently that was a rarity.

"Always fine." Not saying anything else, Sirena slipped past her sister, through the crowd and disappeared through the waves. Aquata didn't follow this time, she had learned to respect her sister's need to be by herself every once in a while.

As she swam through the segments of the reef, alone, all she could think of was Mako. Everything she had to do was turn around. Turn around and start swimming. It was a week's swim, with no stops, but she would have been back there. Back _home_. With Nixie and Lyla and Rita. And David. So why couldn't she? The young mermaid thought as she wandered aimlessly. Probably because it would get Aquata exiled as well. Her older sister had vouched for her, the last thing Sirena wanted was to get her in trouble. Plus she's jeopardize everyone's chances of returning. So once again her feelings would have to be set aside and let logic take their place. It had been way too long, she needed a solid plan. And fast.

By the time she stopped it was already dark outside. Breaking the surface of the water, Sirena's eyes scouted the horizon. Somewhere over there was her home, her friends. And as great as the reef here was, and the mermaids, they could never replace Mako. Or the people she had left behind.

"I hope you're all safe." Her voice was a faint whisper. "We'll see each other again, i promise. I'll bring the pod back. They will listen!"

Lyla's stubbornness had rubbed off on her, Aquata used to tease whenever Sirena spoke back at her. But the younger mermaid only smiled. She didn't mind it, it was one of Lyla's good traits. Yes, it got them into trouble sometimes, but it also got them out. Just like Nixie's mischievousness. How she missed those two arguing, stubborn, painfully irritating...wonderful mermaids.

"Sirena! It's getting late." That was Ruby, one of the younger mermaids in the southern pod. For some reason she thought it was her duty to be Sirena's new headache. She wasn't all bad, but a little too nosy, had no respect for one's privacy. Every time Sirena needed alone time, Ruby was there, asking her questions about Mako and about the merman...no, stupid land boy, who had ruined everything.

"Coming." Feeling a tear forming in the corner of her eye, Sirena thought it was best she returned before anyone else decided to join her. "I'll try and fix this." She whispered again before disappearing under the surface of the sea, darting back towards the caves.

* * *

The standard issue file was sitting awkwardly between the woman's two fingers, looking as if it did not belong there. Exactly how the young woman in the seat across the desk felt. Her new, fancy clothes itched like hell, especially around the torso, but she couldn't scratch without looking weird. So she settled for shifting positions in her seat more often than a normal person would. But she wasn't normal, so maybe it was ok. The woman with the uncomfortably long nails and a hairstyle that best suited a circus clown didn't seem to agree however as she kept giving quick glares from above her fuchsia glasses. Gross choice of outfit, and the shoes, they didn't even match. Who had dressed her, the Capitol people?

"So Layla, tell me..." Her voice was the worst, like claws on a blackboard. How did the windows take it? Nobody's mouth should take that shape, not when they speak at least.

"It's **_Lyla_**." It came out a little more rude than it should have, the blonde thought as she felt a leg kick her under the table. Rita must have agreed with that. However judging by the look on her aunt's face she looked like she wanted to do more than growl at the ridiculously looking woman in front of them. "Lyla Isabelle Santos." Her full name still felt a little weird to use; the one thing she still had to get used to.

"Lyla? Oh, i could have sword its Layla! Well," Annoying giggle, trying to look cute. "My mistake dearie. Why do you want to study at our school? Honest opinion!"

Wanna take that back? Lyla thought, reviewing her honest opinion. There was no way to make that suitable for audiences under thirteen. Again her aunt was on the same wave length and gave her another kick under the desk, this time Lyla having to bite her lower lip to hold back a squeak of annoyance and pain. Honest opinion: I don't want to be here! It was all she could think of ever since they pulled the car out of Rita's driveway. What surprised her was the fact that she only thought of the school, and not the entire world as those words passed through her mind.

It had been so long since she had gone for a real swim, or truly interacted with another sea creature that she couldn't even remember. There were the night swims she and Rita used to take on a full moon, trying to make some sort of ritual of their own, but it didn't feel right, not being near Mako, near the Moon Pool, so they dropped it pretty quick. Then Rita stopped joining her, principal _and_ legal guardian duties taking the lead. Sooner than later Lyla's swims became shorter and closer to home. Then high school life began and homework, projects and of course recovering almost seventeen years of school kept her busy. Then Rita's money issues forced her to take a part time job, which she kind of enjoyed since it was the only place she made a friend. Eventually she stopped thinking of reasons and ways to be in the water and started thinking of ways to avoid it in her other life. Her new life.

Deciding she had tuned out for too long, Lyla inhaled, preparing her speech. Then she exhaled, trying to smile as politely as she could.

"Well, Miss Fryers, honestly, you had me from the start of your presentation in Melbourne two weeks ago." What followed was a ton of bullshit Lyla didn't even bother to remember when they left the office. But the woman seemed pleased enough and so did aunt Rita. College was in the bag, so what was next? The blonde asked herself as she walked down the alley, towards the car.

"I honestly hope you two are doing better than i am."

* * *

"NIXIE! Catch!"

Something hit Nixie on the side of the head. It wasn't hard, not enough to hurt her, but enough to wake her up from her dreamy state. Usually she was the one to loose interest the quickest, her teacher saying she had the attention span of a goldfish (Nixie didn't comment back), but lately it was worse than ever. She tuned out often and she was cranky most of the days. Everyone assumed it had something to do with the fact that she was different from her new pod, her tail being golden rather than dark pink like the rest, but they couldn't have been more wrong. It had nothing to do with the color of their tails, but them in general. They weren't her friends.

"Watch it, will you Lyla?" The other two mermaids stared at her in confusion for a few seconds before giving each other a look of agreement. "What...?" Nixie would have wanted to ask, but then it hit her. Squinting her eyes shut she tried to shake it off. The last thing she needed right now was to be pitied.

"Sorry Lara! Sorry Coral! I think i'll just call it a day." And with that she disappeared under the surface of the water, swimming back towards her cave.

Her cave. All the time spent with the Mako pod all she had wanted was a room of her own so she wouldn't have to stand Lyla's whining. Now that she had a room of her own it just felt empty. For the first couple of weeks she had been there every single one of her returns began with an excited 'You guys won't believe what...' and her voice fainted into an inaudible whisper as she realized there was nobody around for her to share that day's events with. Pink tails reacted all the same so if she told one it was as if she told all of them. So eventually she just went out seeking dolphins to speak to.

Coral was her only friend in the new pod. Of course everyone liked to think they were her friend, but Coral was the only one who was on the same page as Nixie, like humans would put it. So when Lara suggested the two follow Nixie, Coral grabbed her hand and suggested they go get dinner instead.

The dark haired mermaid didn't swim far that day, that's how she had ended up spending her evening with Lara out of all mermaids (someone needed to glue that girl's mouth shut!). She didn't feel like seeking out an adventure anymore. All adventures out there were the same, things only got interesting when they spotted a fishing boat, poaching for dolphins, and had to chase it. But pink tails took the fun out of that too, they were so peaceful they even got caught a few times as they refused to harm the people harming them. Nixie already had two strikes so she couldn't zap the fishermen anymore. So she just settled for swimming around with the dolphins and warning them.

Having reached her home, she surfaced from the water, looking around the small, empty cave. It had the best lighting out of all! Malia had told her excited when she was assigned the room. But it seemed darker than ever now as she sat on that rock, wishing she had even Lyla there to yell at her for whatever reason. Slowly but surely the guilt overcame her. How could she just leave Lyla like that? Sure, she had Rita, but Rita had her own life. Was she ok? Had Sirena visited her yet? Of course not, Sirena couldn't come back! So Lyla was alone, against Zac and Cam and Evie and basically the world.

"Ugh, damn it!" Nixie muttered under her breath. "Malia, i hope you're not asleep yet!" Tossing her comb aside, the brunette disappeared back under the water surface, leaving a trail of bubbles behind as she zapped out of the cave.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N:** Chapter three, i tried to make it shorter but i don't think i was succesful. Anyway, i still hope you enjoy! Please review!

In reply to **fictionlover94'**s question: Not quite. She joined a pod of mermaids who's home has been destroyed and now they moved around often looking for a new one (i was going to detail on that later but i guess i should explain it briefly) . As for your second question, it will be answered soon!

* * *

The Moon Pool was empty. Only a few pieces of camping gear were scattered across the sand but their owners were nowhere near the cave. Hopefully. Getting caught was not part of the plan, not yet at least. There were so many more things to do before that. Most important, find the mermaid. She'd know where the bloody toy was. So would the boy, but he wouldn't give it up that easily. And a fight was sadly out of the question. So, find the mermaid, get her to trust you, find the toy. With a nod, the intruder disappeared back under the water, speeding out of the cave, unaware of the fact that someone was indeed around.

* * *

Zac's eyes shifted from one side of the cave to the other but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Despite Cam swearing he saw someone go inside the cave, everything was just the way they had left it the previous day. Even the tower they had built out of Dr Pepper cans was still standing, and that thing would have collapsed the second someone went on land.

Aside for the two of them, Evie and Lyla nobody else knew about the Moon Pool so nobody else could have come looking. Unless...No. She wouldn't, not alone at least. And from what Zac knew, the other two were not back yet. Miss Santos was always at school and even if she wasn't, she wouldn't come looking for a fight, it wasn't her style. To both boys' surprise she wasn't even giving them a hard time at school, just treating them as usual. However he'd have to check if Nixie or Sirena were back, he couldn't risk it even if he was only going on one of Cam's crazy hunches.

"I'm telling you mate! I saw _someone_! Must have been a fish person, 'cause nobody else dives around here." The blonde boy had already surfaced behind Zac, causing him to flinch slightly when he spoke. He didn't think his friend would catch up with him so quickly, he was clearly getting better at swimming. Rolling his eyes one last time, the merman turned to face him. The other boy's eyes darted frenetically around the room, making him look a bit crazy.

"Will you calm down? You look like Buster whenever someone drops food on the ground." Zac teased, now looking amused rather than worried. Clearly Cam was wrong, again. "You need to stop hanging out around here so long, the lack of oxygen is starting to affect you."

Without another word (he did let out a silent growl thought, thinking Zac wouldn't hear) Cam put his mouth piece back in, disappearing under the water. Clearly he was annoyed, he wasn't used to being wrong and that seemed to happen a lot lately. With a bright grin on his face, Zac dived after him, heading back to the boat.

* * *

It felt eerie, being back into the ocean after so much time on land. And for the first time ever, frightening. Every sound, every wave made Lyla shudder and look over her shoulder, expecting to see him there. Too close to Mako, the blonde thought as she abruptly stopped beside a large rock which provided some cover. The landscape was so familiar it hurt; everywhere she looked she thought she saw glimpses of either Sirena or Nixie's tails, taunting her, tempting her to follow them. Every time she had to squeeze her eyes shut and remind herself they were no longer there. Not them, not any golden tail. Not as long as Zac still had the Moon Pool.

How little it takes to ruin a friendship, the blonde mermaid thought as she stood there, glued to the cold rock, her senses still on alert. Now that she had so long to reflect on it, perhaps they should have been honest with him to begin with. That would have avoided many useless conflicts. But how could they know what he would do if he knew the whole truth about their world, about the trident? All they wanted was their family back, why didn't he get that? What if he'd loose his family for good?

As she opened her eyes and turned around, Lyla caught a glimpse of a tail disappearing behind a rock not two meters to her left. A _blue_ tail. Despite her heart pounding so hard it threatened to break loose from her chest, Lyla tried to appear calm, pretend she had not seen anything. Zac wouldn't hurt her, right? Chase her off, most likely. But he wouldn't hurt her. She had never hurt him. And she couldn't hurt him, even to save her own life (cruel reality). Maybe he'd leave her be if she just pretended nothing happened an just headed back to Rita's grotto. Or maybe she had just imagined it, the stress of the physics test having finally gotten to her.

So focused on her rants, Lyla didn't notice the weeds wrapping themselves around her tail until her swimming was brought to an abrupt stop. With a quick flick of the hand she untangled herself from their grasp, a frown present on her face. Did someone do this? Or was she just being paranoid and had gotten stuck in some tall grass on her own? It did happen before. Oh how she could use one of Rita's headache potions now. Banishing the bad thoughts to a deeper corner of her mind, the young mermaid began swimming in the direction of her home.

What she didn't know was that she didn't tangle herself in those ropes, not without help. From behind a rock, someone was watching her amused. As soon as she swam away, her stalker turned invisible, following her all the way to the underwater entrance of Rita's grotto.

* * *

"Malia!" Nixie called out, her eyes searching the cave for the leader of the pink tails pod. After failing to gain an audience with her the night before, and two nights before that, the young mermaid finally grew impatient and decided to stop waiting and just go up to the leader and speak her mind. Worst she could do was kick her out, and since she did want to leave, it wasn't that bad.

Around this time of the day she had to be far out from the reef, with a couple other mermaids, keeping watch for fishing boats. Perfect time to accost her, Nixie thought as she remembered. At full speed the swim was short and in a few minutes Nixie was sitting behind the group, ready to call out Malia's name.

"Nixie!" As if she had read her mind, the black haired mermaid turned to face her, a bright smile present on her face. "Joining us in this morning's watch?" Malia asked cheerfully as she gestured for Nixie to approach. "So far it's been quiet."

"Actually, we need to talk." The young mermaid began as she climbed onto a rock next to the pod leader. "It's important."


End file.
